Discover Australia's fascinating shipwreck history 

Published on 04 February 2020

A travelling exhibition that uncovers Australia’s rich shipwreck history will be based at Kerang’s Sir John Gorton Library this February and March.

Presented by the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Australian Maritime Museums Council, Submerged - Stories of Australia’s Shipwrecks features the stories of 14 wrecks as part of the nationally touring panel exhibition.

“Australia’s coast is the final resting place for more than 11,000 shipwrecks, which works out to be roughly one for every three kilometres of coastline,” Mayor Lorraine Learmonth said.

“Submerged - Stories of Australia’s Shipwrecks tells the story of 14 of these wrecks, selected from a shortlist of 68 stories nominated by 46 maritime museums and heritage institutions from around Australia.”

The exhibition features stories on some of Australia’s historic shipwrecks, including:

• The City of Rayville, the first American ship sunk during World War Two after striking a sea-mine off Cape Ottway in 1940;
• British merchant ship Sydney Cove, lost in 1797 off Preservation Island, Tasmania;
• The Lake Illawarra, which collided with the Tasman Bridge in Hobart in 1975;
• Australia’s second submarine, HMAS AE2, lost in 1915 in the Sea of Marmara, Turkey, during World War One; and
• The Batavia, lost on Beacon Island, off the Western Australian coast in 1629. The sinking of this Dutch vessel and subsequent mutiny is one of the most dramatic events in Dutch and Australian maritime history.

“Gannawarra Shire Council is pleased to be one of the locations to host Submerged - Stories of Australia’s Shipwrecks as part of its two-year tour around the nation,” Mayor Learmonth said.

Submerged - Stories of Australia’s Shipwrecks will be on display at Kerang’s Sir John Gorton Library from Tuesday, 11 February to Tuesday, 24 March. Admission is free.